#1
Where did they go? If most of them went into the bit bucket, we would never know. Electronic voting and voting machines are computerized fraud. US should go back to paper ballots and a chain of evidence for ballot boxes.
There will be similar discussions in 2016.

#9
Romney's GOTV sucked. Of course, GOTV really ought to be the party's responsibility. Spending-wise, the all-out sprint near the end of the primaries leaves no cash for GOTV.

Besides, GOTV is the cousin of constituent service. The Dems have had paid professionals in place around the country since Obama was elected. What was the RNC doing? Obama was a community organizer, which is a pretty name for ward heeler. He had people canvassing for votes from day one of his administration. The GOP's GOTV operation was asleep at the wheel, counting its cash while the DNC drained its coffers by paying professionals to keep in regular touch with its voter base, perhaps providing constituent service or whatever. On election day, that attention to detail paid off.

#11
If your constituency is poor it's cheap to entice them to get to the polls; Romney's constituency was largely middle class, had jobs and responsibilities, and the enticements it would take to affect their routine would be beyond the means of political operatives as well as being illegal (and obviously so.)

#12
Look, folks. The difference is down in the noise and corruption level. You have to beat the opponent by 5% or more to be sure that you get a decisive win. How can you prove voting irregularities? If you had people of good will, then everyone is approaching the voting with honesty. But many are not, and it is difficult or impossible to prove fraud.

We are a house divided and all the lawyers in the world will not make this thing clean. That is the reality as I see it.

#13
See also YAHOO NEWS > LATINO GROUPS TO OBAMA: YOU OWE LATINOS THE ELECTION, NOW PASS IMMIGRATION REFORM.

IIUC, the majority of America's minority voters picked the Bammer, AFAIK to include women + the majority of Jewish-American voters which was surprising.

OTOH FOX NEWS ALL-STAR PANEL > KRAUTHAMMER = opined that the Bammer does NOT have any conclusive or overwhelming mandate from the Voters, + that Obama's second term is starting off wid America in deep trouble.

#6
They tried Carolina but the NLRB Obama union appointees said no they couldn't move. Another nail in the coffin of the former land of freedom. Papers, papers, we want to see your papers [except at the polling station].

#12
The expression is right, Cretinous Humungous. Separately, Colin Powell would never have lowered himself to stump for votes from the common folk. He is not a natural politician, though as a general he had to do high level politics. Sadly, Condoleeza Rice is even less inclined to politics. But as neither were able to control the State Department staff, it didn't bode well for their ability to control the rest of the executive bureaucracy, should they have somehow managed to have gotten elected.

Preparing the battle space for changes at the state level. Governor Walker of Wisconsin showed the way, and others are following. Tuesday may yet prove to have been the last presidential election where the unions were a major force.

Michigan voters rejected a controversial measure to enshrine collective bargaining in the state Constitution.

The union-backed measure mustered only 42 percent support with most precincts reporting. Voter approval would have made Michigan the first state in the nation with such a constitutional guarantee of collective bargaining rights.

The proposed amendment known as Proposal 2 would have prohibited the Legislature from approving any new laws to restrict collective bargaining.

Unions called for the measure after Republicans who control the House, Senate and Governor's Office pushed through more than 30 bills restricting collective bargaining rights after taking office in January 2011. The retroactive measure also would keep Michigan from becoming a right-to-work state, where there would be a ban on requiring union membership to be employed.

Experts have said Proposal 2 was a referendum on unions. About 18 percent of Michigan's workforce is unionized, and slightly more than 12 percent of private-sector workers are in a union. Unions collected more than $21.5 million for the fight through late October, much of it coming from national unions including the National Education Association, United Auto Workers and International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

#4
haha!! I voted absentee and said HELL NO on this nonsense! Good, at least one win for the good guys. They voted back in Stabenow (aka Stab-a-cow) and obviously Obummer. I've been trying hard for yrs to remove stabenow. Idiot state.

#7
Two union-related proposals were smacked down in MI. The one mentioned in the article as well as another that would force-unionize home-based caregivers and allow the Service Employees International Union to collect money.

Another proposal to require utilities to generate 25% of their power from green source was also shot down. Power grabs and nonsense aside, stuff like this just does not belong in a state constitution.

#9
SteveS, right. I saw that and voted against that as well. The gov't needs to stay out of putting numbers to how energy production will be done in a state referendum. And, anytime I am not sure on a proposal, all I ask myself is - will this initiative (if it passes) make a fellow citizen pay more in a tax? If so, I always vote no.

Florida Rep. Allen West on Wednesday demanded a recount as his bid for reelection remained too close to call, with the tea party Republican trailing his Democratic opponent by fewer than 3,000 votes.

West, who warned before the election of "nefarious actions" by Democrats, suggested a county election supervisor was trying to rig the election.

"Late last night Congressman West maintained a districtwide lead of nearly 2,000 votes until the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections 'recounted' thousands of early ballots," West's campaign said in a statement. "Following that 'recount' Congressman West trailed by 2,400 votes."

West also said there were "numerous other disturbing irregularities" in St. Lucie County.

"The St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections office clearly ignored proper rules and procedures, and the scene at the Supervisor's office last night could only be described as complete chaos," the campaign said. "Given the hostility and demonstrated incompetence of the St. Lucie County Supervisor of Elections, we believe it is critical that a full hand recount of the ballots take place in St. Lucie County. We will continue to fight to ensure every vote is counted properly and fairly, and accordingly we will pursue all legal means necessary."

Murphy declared victory shortly after 1 a.m., according to TCPalm.com. West had yet to concede. Murphy's 0.8 point lead is outside the 0.5 margin that would require a recount in the Sunshine State. If Murphy's lead remains bigger than 0.5 percentage points, a state elections front man told the Miami Herald that there is "no statutory mechanism for a candidate, group or anyone else to have a recount done."

The Palm Beach Post reports provisional and absentee ballots in Democratic-leaning Palm Beach County still need to be counted. Murphy's campaign manager told the newspaper the outstanding ballots weren't enough to overturn the results.

ROVE = refuses to admit that Obama won Ohio, criticizes Fox News for premature? calling of Ohio for the Bammer.

BILL O'REILLY = Obama won because contemporary America is not traditional America anymore, WHITE ESTABLISHMENT IS NOW THE MINORITY.

* RELATED TELEGRAPH.CO.UK > [US]REPUBLICAN PARTY DESCENDS INTO CIVIL WAR AS TEA PARTY MOVEMENT VOWS TO DRIVE PARTY FURTHER TO THE RIGHT.

* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > TELEGRAPH.CO.UK > [Alt-Market.com = Brandon Smith] HOW THE WINNER WILL DESTROY AMERICA. Six Methods or Policies, be the POTUS winner in 2012 be a Democrat Obama or Republican Romney.

* RENSE > LATINO VOTE - THERE MAY NEVER AGAIN BE ANOTHER REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT | [Fox News] GERALDO: PRSIDENT OBAMA EARNS RE-ELECTION APPROVAL FROM LATINO VOTERS.

#3
We had a guy who kept getting re-elected to office. Mysteriously, boxes of uncounted votes (always in his favor) always appeared at the last minute from out in the county. Finally, the voters realized the guy was corrupt and got rid of him. Rep. West, it would be wise to recount and check very carefully these votes--you may find that you actually won.

#4
Probably too late - the recounter likely added 'real but fake' ballots for Murphy or removed and destroyed actual ballots for West. And of course military absentee ballots don't get to count at all.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid... the charismatic senator-for-life from Nevada, currently majority leader ... said Wednesday that he will try to push through a change to Senate rules that would limit the GOP's ability to filibuster bills.

Speaking in the wake of Tuesday's election, which boosted Senate Democrats' numbers slightly, Mr. Reid said he won't end filibusters altogether but that the rules need to change so that the minority party cannot use the legislative blocking tool as often.

"I think that the rules have been abused and that we're going to work to change them," he told news hounds. "Were not going to do away with the filibuster but we're going to make the Senate a more meaningful place."

Republicans, who have 47 of the chamber's 100 seats in this current Congress, have repeatedly used that strong minority to block parts of President B.O.'s agenda on everything from added stimulus spending to his judicial picks.

A filibuster takes 60 senators to overcome it.

Leaders of both parties have been reluctant to change the rules because they value it as a tool when they are in the minority.

But Mr. Reid said things changed over the last few years when he repeatedly faced off against Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, who had said his chief political goal was defeating Mr. Obama. Mr. Reid said that led the GOP to abuse the filibuster.

#1
C'mon Nevada, you deserve better than Reid. You are better than this. Do it for yourself respect and do it for the country. He is a cranky old pouge obstructionist who needs to be put out to pasture the next election. He is part of the Washington problem. Nevada help fix Washington!

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was the main Democrat celebrity at a party fundraiser featuring top officials of front groups for the Muslim Brotherhood and terrorist Hamas organization.

The Investigative Project on Terrorism (IPT) reported last week that Pelosi headlined the fundraiser in May. One of the guests was Nihad Awad, a founder of the Council for American-Islamic Relations, a group that ostensibly fights for the rights of Muslims, but which federal prosecutors have said is connected to the financing of terrorists.

Pelosis message? Muslims should be Democrats because Republicans are Islamophobes.

The Fundraiser

According to IPT, Pelosi and the Democrats assembled with the suspect Muslims at an invitation-only fundraiser on May 16.

In attendance were about 20 members of a Syrian dissident group and 10 officials representing Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas front groups, IPT reported. It continued,

Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) Executive Director Nihad Awad was perhaps the most prominent attendee and played a key role in organizing the event.

CAIR, an unindicted co-conspirator in the 2007-2008 Holy Land Foundation Hamas money-laundering trials, was described in FBI testimony as having been created by Hamas. In a 2007 federal court filing, prosecutors described CAIR as conspiring with other branches of the Muslim Brotherhood to support terrorists.

The FBI officially severed relations with CAIR in 2008 because of its ties to Hamas.

IPT reported that Awad is an open and vociferous supporter of Hamas, a major terrorist organization in the Middle East.

Another of the more notable Muslim guests, IPT reported, was Jamal Barzinji, a founding father of the Muslim Brotherhood in America and co-founder of the Muslim Students Association (MSA), an incubator for Islamic radicalism in North America. MSA was the forerunner of Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) and the International Institute of Islamic Thought (IIIT).

Among the new group of state politicians to emerge from Election Day on Tuesday is Brian Banks, who has been convicted eight times for felonies involving bad checks and credit card fraud.

Banks, a Democrat and lifelong Detroiter, won a seat in Lansing as a state representative for the 1st District, representing the east side of Detroit, Harper Woods, and the tony Grosse Pointes. He won 68 percent of the vote to Republican Dan Schulte's 32 percent.

Banks, 35, was convicted eight times between 1998 and 2004 of writing bad checks and credit card fraud.

His slogan was "You can Bank on Banks.""...and you can take that to the bank. And, since you're going there, could you cash this for me?"
"It's time to elect a leader, with experience and passion, who will fight for you," he wrote on his website....until I go back to jail.

#1
Learning to play the game. In the race for Missouri Senator back in 2000, the Donk died in a plane crash. Although the state constitution required 'living' in the state to be on the ballot, the state supremes ruled otherwise to allow his widow to take the seat as he received the majority vote in the election.

A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.